Iraqis target IS with ‘shuttlecock’ bombs
IRAQI forces are taking the fight to Islamic State by bombing jihadis with shuttlecock-guided grenades.
Feathered tails from the projectile used in badminton have been fitted to explosive devices to ensure greater accuracy when fired from drones.
The tactic marks a turnaround in the ongoing battle in war-torn Mosul, as drone drops were a method used by insurgents to bomb Coalition forces and civilians. Improvised bombs proved so effective that the idea was stolen and is now being used to give the enemy a taste of their own medicine.
The weapons are oblong devices tipped by small, rounded grenades with a pin near one end and a netted skirt taken from a shuttlecock on the other. Live footage from the drones can be beamed back to officers for them to pinpoint their targets.
Drones have a range of five miles, with each carrying up to four grenades.
Colonel Hussein Muayad, whose federal police forces are using the weapon in the fight to recapture parts of the besieged city, said: “West Mosul is very populated. The roads are very narrow. The point with these drones is to have very precise strikes to target the terrorists, not the residents.
“Residents would stare at the sky during the Mosul fighting, fearing IS drones. Now it’s the enemy whose eyes never leave the sky. We can hit them up to four times with a single drone.”